It Started Off Pretty Well - Genesis 29:1-14

Bible Study Lesson for March 10

Genesis 29-31 feature a break in the story of sibling rivalry between Esau and Jacob. They are a kind of self-contained story about Jacob’s journey in exile and the focus is on Jacob’s ability to secure an heir for the blessing. The secondary motive of Jacob’s flight to Haran, to find a wife from among his mother’s kin, becomes the driving force behind Jacob’s journey. Jacob will find a new antagonist in his father-in-law Laban, and unlike the hapless victim Esau, Laban will prove to be a worthy adversary in Jacob’s trickery. But first, the story begins with a happy meeting.

The last time the story of Genesis took us to Haran was in chapter 24, when Abraham sent a trusted slave to find a wife from among his kinfolk there. The slave, by the providence of God, found Rebekah by a well almost as soon as he arrived in the far county. In the story before us today, Jacob finds remarkably similar success, finding himself in the presence of his future wife almost as soon as he arrives.

One striking aspect of this story is that God doesn’t really show up concretely, nor do the characters speak in theological language. Unlike Abraham’s slave, Jacob does not attribute his finding Rachel to God’s providence or intervention. He just sees her and immediately falls in love. But we remember the promise of God to Jacob in 28:15:

“Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

That encounter with God in Chapter 28 and the encounter that will come in Chapter 32 form a bracket for Jacob’s travels in Haran, and remind us that God is with Jacob throughout his journey.

This story also sets the tone for much of what is to come. For the next three chapters, we will be on Jacob’s side. Even though some of the things that have alienated us from Jacob (namely his trickiness and his self-seeking) will be present, Jacob is clearly presented in these chapters as the hero. When he first encounters the shepherds, he questions why they have not uncovered the well so the sheep could drink. The shepherds respond that they are waiting for all the herds to be gathered and for the stone to be rolled away from the well. It is unclear whose job it is to roll away the large stone, but surely these shepherds could have done it together if they wanted. Rachel arrives, Jacob sees her for the first time, and the men gathered at the well tell Jacob she is his cousin. This means Rachel is a good candidate for marriage and Jacob takes matters into his own hands. Like Popeye and Olive Oyl, he displays a tremendous feat of strength rolls the stone away by himself. For the people of Israel who would read this story in future generations, Jacob’s presentation in these chapters would take on the character of family lore: Grandpa Jacob was the hero and everybody else just had to stand by and watch!

When Jacob and Laban meet in verses 13 and 14, we see no hint of the war of minds that will characterize their interactions for the next three chapters. They are merely happy to see each other. Laban greets his sister’s son and welcomes him into his house with a kiss. After everything that transpires between them, Laban will send his grandchildren and his daughters away with a kiss in 31:55.

New beginnings are an occasion for joy. When a new child is born into a family, there is celebration and parties, and new parents find themselves like Jacob doing things that didn’t until now seem possible. There is a part of us that welcomes new things and new possibilities. In our church, we hopefully welcome new members with open arms and we celebrate new possibilities. But what happens when the new wears off?

The end of verse 14 says, “and [Jacob] stayed with [Laban] a month.” Next week’s reading will begin with Laban’s question, which breaks the contented happiness of the new beginning for his family with this unexpected guest from his sister’s household. Laban says, “You’ve been helping me for free. What can I pay you for your trouble?” Eventually, when the newness wears off, we grow suspicious of the new addition to our family and we wonder what we are going to have to give up for them to stay and flourish. Laban will famously seek his own advantage in this transition. We have to be on guard against our own petty motivations in resisting change or trying to control the future. The world is an uncertain place. How can we avoid the temptation to control and seek our own advantage?

I think the key, once again, is in remembering that God is in control. God is present even when we don’t recognize it. Even when the narration of our life leaves God out. God brings Jacob to Haran at just the right time to find Rachel, just as God brought Abraham’s slave to Haran at just the right time for Rebekah to find him. The God who promised Jacob “I am with you wherever you go,” is the same God who tells us “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b). We were not promised that the future holds exactly what we want. In the story of Jacob, no one gets everything they wanted on their own schedule. But God will work through our story to bring about the end that God wants. God will be with us, even when we forget it or ignore God.